Und plötzlich war es Liebe

Harmless bit of bland, implausible romantic fluff for the gals. Its an example of why I stopped watching "Masterpiece Theater" years ago; also it is targeted squarely at the primary fundraising-base for PBS these days, which is middle-aged women.

Robson Green once again does his patented squinty-eyed turn as a quirky younger man romancing an older woman; he doesn't have very many years left to play this type of character. He certainly does have that mysterious key quality where you can't take your eyes off him on-screen; however I always wonder what serious actors really think of him. I was surprised here that the production didn't bother to disguise how short he is (much shorter than his female-lead romantic interest).

The only other interesting actor is Michael Maloney, but his one-note character gives him nothing to do but look pained all the time.

Russell Baker asked us to suspend our disbelief for "Me & Mrs. Jones". Suspension of disbelief is an important aspect in the observation of drama, but only when it's worth while to allow the appreciation of the drama (There was none; it was perfectly obvious from the beginning how it would end.) or comedy (which consisted mostly of Robson Green squinting thoughtfully and his friend the fund-raiser hyperventilating.) There's nothing really wrong with it as a TV-movie, but there's nothing particularly interesting either.

Robson Green proves once again he's hard to resist - even if you're the British Prime Minister.

In "Me and Mrs. Jones," a reporter, Liam Marple, goes after a hot tabloid-type story on the standing Prime Minister (Caroline Goodall) as she awaits the upcoming election. He does this at the behest of his ex-girlfriend (Keeley Hawes). After forcing a friend to take him to a party, he meets the Prime Minister, they dance, and there's an instant attraction. She is married at this point in name only to Richard Bowden (Philip Quast). The two wind up having an affair, which complicates Liam's plans for a tell-all. She knows him under another name and he's fallen in love with her.

Delightful, sexy story, absolute fantasy, with two attractive leads and a twist that's not really much of a twist at all, 11 years later.

Just watch it and enjoy it for the romance that it is.

If you have a chance to catch this on Masterpiece Theatre, I strongly recommend it. The leads are attractive and many of the supporting cast are entertainingly quirky. As in an earlier Masterpiece Theatre, "Reckless", Robsen Green is attracted to a married woman. This time the stakes are higher because the woman is the Prime Minister and Green is a reporter trying to get a scoop. Even though Harry Fletcher is such a rogue, you can't help hoping true love will win.

I didn't know who Robson Green was until I'd seen the "Wire in the Blood" series. I did know Caroline Goodall. I have seen her in several things. She is a great actress.

This is a very predictable story of a tabloid journalist, Liam Marple(Robson Green), who is given the assignment to find something dirty on the interim Prime Minister, Laura Bowden(Caroline Goodall) after the death of the previous Prime Minister.

Using the name Harry Fletcher, Marple takes Bowden on a whirlwind romance, inadvertantly falling in love with her in the process. Marple does find the "dirt" in the family, but in an unique altruistic action, Marple reveals his true identity. After Bowden discovers who he really is, she breaks off their relationship.

But as Liam says in their final meeting; "Boy gets girl, boy loses girl. Then they realize they can't live without each other and fall into each others arms and live happily ever after."

She counters with; "How about boy smiles at girl and girls smiles back, then the boy says goodby and disappears from her life forever."

All of the quotes are paraphrased, but I do recommend this movie if you want some harmless, romantic fun.